- Anasta became emotional when talking about her father’s suicide
- Footy Great says he still has nightmares about the tragic event
- Former Bulldogs, Roosters star was just 15 when his father died
- If you require support, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
Former NRL star Braith Anasta has broken down as he spoke for the first time about an aspect of the death of his father, who killed himself when the football great was just 15.
Anasta, 42, made his NRL debut with the Canterbury Bulldogs as an 18-year-old, but just a few years earlier his world was turned upside down when his father Peter Anastasakis didn’t come home from work one afternoon.
“Every Sunday he would go and do the books,” Anasta told Russell Manser The Stick Up Podcast.
‘I was quite young, I was fifteen, and we went to Bondi’s for dinner every Sunday. Me, mom and dad. And he didn’t come home from the workshop (that day).
Braith Anasta became very emotional when he spoke for the first time about an aspect of his father’s death
The NRL great’s father (pictured together) took his own life when Anasta was just a teenager
‘It’s terrible, I still have nightmares about it. I still remember the moment.
“My brother went with my uncle and then they came back and told us, and mom cried to them on the phone.
‘Yes, I still get a bit emotional about it. I’ve never actually talked about that.’
It took many years for a young Anasta to come to terms with his grief.
A naturally gifted athlete, he could have chosen a professional sporting career in golf, rugby or competition.
The shocking loss of his father could have derailed that, but instead Anasta used his sport as a way to distract him from his grief.
“It’s just a moment that… I don’t talk about that (the suicide), but it has a huge impact on me and it will forever,” he said.
“In saying that, like my reaction after that original moment of madness and just being desperate, it was a week of no sleep and family at your house and everyone was devastated because no one saw it coming.
“But I actually went the opposite way, like I thought I wanted to make him proud, so I didn’t quite let it go then, and that’s why it still has an impact on me now, I think.
Anasta revealed that he still has nightmares about the event and that talking about it still hurts
“I just said, ‘f**k this, what’s next?’
‘My brother found him, so that was terrible, and my mother was also his only friend. They met when they were teenagers.
“At least I had golf and rugby league and sport to concentrate on.
‘It affected me later in life. When I went through some tough times playing football in my twenties and faced criticism, which is part of being a professional athlete, I didn’t have my dad there. Even financial advice, just anything you rely on your dad for.
“I had to get some help and consult counselors, and I got to a point where I felt pretty comfortable in my twenties. (But) talking about the actual moment hurts and will haunt me forever.”